Last spring's "Thor" casting contest conjured more rumors than most fans could shake an Uru hammer at, so when the storm had finally settled to reveal Chris Hemsworth as the son of Odin, many reserved judgment—that is, until they saw him lead a starship as Captain George Kirk.

While his heroic role fetched plenty of fan support, Hemsworth's biggest booster to date may just be his former "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams, who had nothing but great things to say about the actor's Starfleet performance.

"It’s very exciting. We really lucked out," Abrams told MTV News in an exclusive interview ahead of the "Star Trek" DVD/Blu-Ray release next month. "He’s so crazy handsome and he’s so strapping with the classic leading man look. I sort of wish I had dirtied him up a little bit, messed his hair up a little bit."

"The guy’s hair up until the last moment is sort of perfect. In retrospect I look at that and am like a little smudge or a hair out of place would have been a good thing," he said. "The guy is a sweetheart and terrific actor."

According to Abrams, the last time he had a chance to chat with Hemsworth was prior to his "Thor" announcement, but he knew the actor was destined for big things.

"[Hemsworth] was in a moment where he was trying to figure out what his next thing was going to be and he stayed strong in terms of what his commitments were to various projects. I knew that he was going to be given a lot of opportunities sooner or later and I was hoping it would be off of Trek," said Abrams.

Abrams' intuition seems to be right on target thus far, especially considering Hemsworth's projected "Thor" followup as one of "The Avengers."

Fans will have to wait until 2011 and 2012 to find out for sure, which ought to give Hemsworth plenty of time to smudge his face like a warrior born.

Excited to see the former George Kirk take on his upcoming thunder god persona? Thunder strike up some conversation in the comments or on Twitter.